A costly defeat. Or not. This Thursday evening, to everyone’s surprise, the France team lost at the Stade de la Beaujoire against Ivory Coast in the first of two preparation matches for the 2026 World Cup.
This setback against the Elephants had the effect of stinging the players eleven days before their entry into the competition, and as a direct result of demoting the FIFA ranking of the best world selections.
France, first since April 1 with 1877 points, is now in third place (1869.43 points), showing a loss of 7.89 points. The Blues are overtaken by Argentina (1st, 1874.81 points) and Spain (2nd, 1873.01 points), which also lost ground after its draw against Iraq (1-1) on Thursday.
France 3rd, good news?
This downgrading is not such bad news after all. On the contrary, it bodes well for the most superstitious. In fact, a curse hangs over the nations arriving at a World Cup as favorites.
Indeed, never has a team won the World Cup by being at the top of the FIFA rankings at kickoff. As of the October 6, 2022 update, for example, Brazil was in the lead with 1841.30 points, while the Argentines were only third (1773.88 points).
